Handwriting
by Tothefence27
Summary: What does a parchment Hermione found in the library lead to when the parchment belongs to none other than Draco Malfoy.


Hey everybody, This is my first story (EVER) so i would appreciate any kind of input. Please Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from this story, it all belongs to the amazing Ms. Rowling.

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She was sitting in the library alone, after a late night study session. After all, this was her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. N.E.W.T.s were quickly approaching and one Hermione Granger was going to do everything in her power to receive as many as she could. This meant that this particular study session was nowhere near the first one. And it was nowhere near the last either.

With a sigh, Hermione gently closed her Arithmancy book. Leaning back in her chair, the Gryffindor princess allowed her eyes to slide shut. She would sit here for a minute before she started the trek to her room in the head's dorm. Yes, Hermione had been made head girl for her last year at Hogwarts. Her co-head was none other than Draco Malfoy.

No one had seen that one coming. Most people thought that Malfoy wouldn't even come back for his last year, given his past affiliation with the dark side. The final battle was the deciding factor in all of these events. When it arrived, the entire Malfoy family did not fight for Voldemort like everyone thought they would. After all, Lucius Malfoy was a renowned Death Eater. He had even served time in Azkaban for it. No one questioned why at the time, they just accepted all the help they could get. After the Malfoy's played a major part in helping Harry Potter bring down Voldemort, no one dared ask questions.

This sudden change of sides had no change on Draco Malfoy however. He was still the cold, arrogant bastard they all knew and hated. Although he does restrain from calling Hermione Mudblood every chance he gets. At the beginning of the year they both decided to call a truce. They would be spending a lot more time together this year and neither wanted to spend it constantly fighting. Of course they still fought occasionally, but Hermione does not mind all that much. A small part of her actually likes her fights with Malfoy. They make her feel alive, as so few things seem to do since the end of the war.

Stopping her train of thought there, Hermione opened her eyes and began to collect her books. Bag slung over her shoulder, she started to head out of the library. She had only gotten seven or eight steps when she caught sight of a piece of parchment on the ground. She picked it up with all intentions of throwing it in the wastebasket until the name scrawled in the corner caught her eye. It was Malfoy's parchment. Since she was heading to their shared dorm so she figured that she might as well give it to him. She again started walking out of the library, flashing Madame Pince a smile as she went. Despite what everyone else thinks, Hermione actually likes Madame Pince. Sure she can be crazy at times, but that is just because she is passionate about her books, something that the Gryffindor know-it-all completely understands. If you took the time to actually talk to her, you would find that shows just about everything about anything having read every book in the library.

On her way to her dorm, the Hermione glanced at the piece of parchment in her hand. She recognized it as a potions essay that had been assigned, and as she read through it, was not at all surprised to find that it was very well written. Malfoy wasn't head boy for no reason.

She studied the essay more closely, noticing the odd quirks to his handwriting. She had once read a book that had to do with handwriting as it connected to a person's personality. Hermione wasn't at all shocked to see that most of his writing was straight up and very uniform. This showed Malfoy's desire to please, not just anyone, but his father. Lucius Malfoy may have changed sides during the war but he was still a strict and unforgiving man. It was only natural that Draco, no Malfoy, would strive to please him.

As her eyes methodically scanned the rest of the essay, something struck the brown-haired witch as odd. Sure she had expected the cold formality of his writing but there was something else that negated all that. The way he dotted his I's. It seems like a really inconsequential thing but what it reveals about the writer in no way fits with Hermione's perception of the Slytherin Prince. It suggests that he has a happy disposition. No way was it talking about Draco Malfoy.

There was one other thing that confused Hermione even more. Certain letters ended with a flourish, curving up and out. It was a little girly and yet regal all at once. This characteristic is usually associated with loneliness and dreamers. She had never really thought about Draco's social life but as she thought back, she could not list one friend of his. The cold spot in her heart that was reserved for him thawed a little. Even not-quite-evil little ferrets like him deserve companionship. She decided then and there that she was going to try to be a friend to him, even if it killed her to do it.

While Hermione had been lost in thought, her feet had carried her to the heads dorm room. Shocked that she was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she whispered the password to the portrait and it immediately swung open. As she entered the shared common room, she noticed that the only light source was the softly flickering fire. On the couch directly in front of the flames was the very boy, no man, who had been occupying her thoughts.

The firelight caressed his face, softening the harsh angles that his profile made. Sure Hermione had heard the giggling girls who fawned over his looks but she personally had never been able to look past his personality. But right now, the man in front of her was not Draco Malfoy, at least not the one she knew. He was someone else entirely and that someone else was very good looking indeed. The Gryffindor studied him for a few minutes, as he was unaware of her presence. He was obviously deep in thought, staring at the flames as if they held the answers to the world.

Figuring she should alert him of her presence, Hermione softly cleared her throat. Draco did not jump in surprise when she made the small noise. This made her wonder if he knew she was there all along, watching him. His head turned and when his eyes alighted on her she noted with great interest that they were not the usual cold silver but instead a gentle gray. Her heart constricted painfully at the picture he made. He was perfect.

"Hermione." Draco broke the hushed silence.

"Good evening, Draco." She had registered the use of her given name but fought hard to keep the surprise off her face. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I think the real question is where have you been?" His tone had lost its gentle quality but was still not the cold sneer she was used to. "I was five minutes away from contracting Potter or Weasley."

"I'm sorry you were worried. I just lost track of time in the library. You know how I get." She replied, touched that he was concerned about her.

"Yes, I do." He chuckled remembering all the times he had walked out of his private room to find her fast asleep on the couch in front of the fire. She would always be surrounded by books making it clear the she had fallen asleep while studying.

"Thank you for staying up and waiting for me." With that she started to walk to her own chamber.

"Goodnight, Hermione." She heard from behind her. Hand on her doorknob, she turned and saw his white blond head on the couch, still facing the fire and away from her.

"Goodnight, Draco." She turned the knob and walked into the room, a small smile playing about her lips. Looking down in her hand she realized she was still tightly gripping the piece of parchment. Her smile widened even more. This parchment was not the only reason now she was giving Draco a second chance. He had shown that he was human and for that, Hermione would in time grant him her forgiveness. She would just give him his potions essay tomorrow.

The End


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